Fear of Missing out and Impulsive Purchasing Among Generation Z Social Media Users: A Systematic Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46799/adv.v4i8.612Keywords:
fear of missing out, impulsive buying, Generation Z, systematic literature review, live streaming, social commerceAbstract
The constant stream of notifications and the rapid turnover of viral content have shaped the digital environment in which Generation Z has grown up, giving rise to fear of missing out (FOMO)—a form of social anxiety that increasingly drives impulsive buying behavior. This issue has become more pressing with the expansion of social commerce and live-streaming platforms, which have shortened the gap between product exposure and purchase decisions. This study maps publication trends on FOMO and impulsive buying among Generation Z, traces the antecedents that trigger this behavior, examines the mechanisms underlying the FOMO–impulsive buying relationship, identifies the theoretical frameworks most frequently applied, and delineates remaining research gaps. Following the PRISMA protocol, 94 documents were retrieved from Scopus and manual searches, of which 26 articles met the inclusion criteria. The review shows that FOMO most often functions as a mediator within the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework, triggered by scarcity cues, live-streaming exposure, and personality traits such as covert narcissism. Two findings diverge from the prevailing consensus: Islamic religiosity does not attenuate the effect of FOMO, and social comparison appears less relevant within the TikTok context. Purchasing contexts beyond conventional retail, such as in-game transactions and travel bookings, remain largely unexplored. This study contributes by consolidating fragmented theoretical perspectives and proposing a research agenda for underexplored purchasing contexts among digital-native consumers, particularly through longitudinal and cross-cultural research designs.
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